Welcome to the Hazlet Township Website. Hazlet is a great town of 5.6 square miles and a little over 20,000 residents. On behalf of the Township Committee, I encourage you to explore our website and learn about what is happening in our great town. Get involved: sign up for Nixle alerts and stay in touch with us via social media as well on our Facebook Page.

Communication is a key element of good government and we need to promote all the positive things that are happening in our town. We will continue to improve in this area so we can keep you informed. We will add “Mayors Updates” to this website on a regular basis. Hazlet has so much to offer for all ages- from HYAL and Soccer for our children to the Senior Groups for our more mature citizens. Become a member of our Swim and Tennis Club this summer- you will love it!

Our township employees do a fantastic job keeping Hazlet safe, clean, efficient, and a great place to live. Thank you to our many residents who volunteer their time on Boards and Committees, or with the First Aid and Rescue squad. Your dedicated service is immeasurable!

I appreciate the opportunity to serve as your Mayor. See you around town!

I wanted to take a few minutes to give you an update about the road work being done throughout Hazlet, since my update last month, and to talk about the work many have noticed that I did not include in my July 27 update.

In addition to the much needed work the Township is doing on our roads, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is making improvement to their infrastructure in Hazlet. Please click here to read more....

Mayors Update- New Business Development- Dispelling the Rumors

Is coming to Hazlet. TRUE

Chic-fil-A will be built with a drive thru in the parking lot in front of the movie theatre. Timing of the construction is completely up to the business owner and on their schedule; they are in the final stages of permit submittals.

Lidl Is coming to Hazlet. TRUE

The construction permit and plans for the new Lidl building were reviewed by the Townships’ Construction Department and ready for permit issuance back in early March. As of last week Lidl was still finalizing and submitting details regarding conditions of the land use board to our engineers. Lidl has not submitted a demolition permit for the Red Oak building. Demolition activities can proceed at any time they choose. Big companies sometimes prefer to mobilize and stage their demolition and construction activities all at once when everything is 100% ready to go. Lidl and their professionals have been a pleasure to work with in the construction department; we look forward to their construction project and more importantly their grand opening.

Kmart/Pathmark Plaza

The plaza has been purchased by a new owner who is working with a developer to create a new plaza with new stores, parking lot, landscaping, and possible new restaurant options. Until their plans are finalized, it is premature to provide any further detail. However we are actively working to bring this project to life.

Popeyes Chicken

On July 6, at the last Land Use Board meeting, Popeyes Chicken received approval to have a restaurant with a drive-thru on Route 36 in Hazlet. This is still in the very early stages, but Popeyes will build on the southbound side of Route 36 between Middle Road and Poole Avenue.

I will continue to update on new activity in Hazlet, however you can always reach out via email at skiley@hazlettwp.org to connect with me, or call my cell phone if I can help you in any way. Remember to SHOP HAZLET!

Mayors Update

"Connect"- A new program for Hazlet

I am excited to tell you about a new program that I have been working on for quite some time. It is called "Connect". The program is all about putting people places and things together for the betterment of our community. The first session of "Connect" happened Wednesday June 7th.

Raritan High School honor students, under the direction of Ms. Melissa Trenton and Ms. Melissa Gardner, met with Hazlet Senior Citizens at the Cullen Center for a session on how to use modern technology. One senior citizen said, "I am learning how to use my 'not so' Smart phone!" The senior citizens were delighted to spend time with the students and learn one on one how to connect to the internet, use their phones and iPads, and Facebook! Students had the opportunity to teach and interact with our seniors while receiving community service hour credit. Anna Barney, President of the Wednesday Seniors Group stated, "The program was a huge success and the Friday Seniors Group can't wait to have their session!"

This is the first of many various interactions that will fall under the "Connect" program. Other sessions will include informational sessions for all ages, a program to provide Identification Cards for our Senior Citizens, and more.

If you are interested in getting involved in this program please give me a call. It is all about continuing to keep Hazlet the great town it is today!

Meredith is a graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Financial Management. She spent a decade working as a Senior Financial Analyst for several Fortune 500 companies, with a focus on procurement, vendor management, expense management and financial reporting. More recently, Meredith has provided private bookkeeping and consulting services to small businesses, corporations and law firms while raising three school-aged children. Meredith is in the process of securing her Certified Municipal Financial Officer’s license at Rutgers University, which she anticipates receiving within the year. Meredith lives in Shrewsbury with her husband and three children.

Meredith, we welcome you to Hazlet and look forward to working with you.

Mayors update- Sewer Bills.

Thank you for your patience and for contacting administration with questions and concerns.

Hazlet upgraded our sewer bill system last summer since our previous system was outdated and no longer supported by the vendor. This upgrade will allow for online and automated payments. We upgraded to the same system we use for our tax bills and this system is widely used by the majority of municipalities within the state.

The configuration of the system functionality and transfer of records and data into the system took longer than expected delaying the fourth quarterly billing in 2016. When our residents received their 4th quarter sewer bills, we learned that some residents hadn’t received the 3rd quarter bill and were being charged late fees. At that point we immediately waived all late fees and any interest charges.

Here is what we are doing.

We have put a manual process in place to assure all sewer bills are printed and mailed through our current system and manner; whether you have a balance due or not we will mail you a bill. We will confirm with the post office the number of bills placed in the mail equal that of the printing.

We are looking into alternative billing methods including a single perforated four-part bill similar to the tax bills.

The next sewer bill will be mailed out in March – due in April with notifications made on the Townships website and facebook page.

We will also be implementing automatic electronic payments with our current system. You will receive details on this when we are ready to implement.

We are hoping to fill an open position shortly and hire a new Chief Financial Officer whom will be key in analyzing and reducing a potential sewer fee reduction. As you should expect, we will do our due diligence to determine the best reduction we can achieve while maintaining the required funds for surplus and any emergency sewer repairs. Our sewer lines are well maintained, however some of our infrastructure is in need of major repair, i.e. the Clark Street Pump Station. More on this will be communicated shortly.

I want to publicly thank our employees who have worked diligently to correct this situation. Our township employees are competent and their integrity is beyond reproach. They are good people, going above and beyond, working for you. Please contact Town Hall with any questions and we will be happy to help you. I am also always available to assist you.